Technical Field
Embodiments generally relate to thermal management in computing systems. More particularly, embodiments relate to securing thermal management parameters from cyber attack.
Discussion
Conventional computing systems may include firmware that uses thermal management parameters to control fans and throttle memory, processors, etc., wherein the thermal management parameters may be vulnerable to attack. For example, a hacker could issue a command to set both the high fan speed and the low fan speed to zero, which can essentially turn the fans off under all conditions. Indeed, such an attack could cause a system shutdown as well as permanent damage to the components of the system. Moreover, datacenter operators may not be aware of the hardware/BIOS (basic input output system) or firmware details of the thermal control techniques in place. Accordingly, it may take a considerable amount of time to recover from the attack.